Daniel Colley 1766072 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environment

Report: Why Do Young People Misbehave in School

Daniel Colley 17660772

Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments

Why Do Young People Misbehave in School?

Section One: Literature Review

In order to effectively group the theories within literature on why young people

misbehave in school, this report will categorise the theories from both sides into

External, Internal and Mixed causes/influences.

An External cause is sourced from outside the student, such as discipline,

consequences and environmental influences (Burton, Taylor & Barber, 2014).

Landsford et al (2011) conducted research into the reciprocal relationship of

parent discipline and externalised misbehaviours and found strong evidence to

suggest that inconsistent or excessive discipline by parents can cause aggressive

and/or anti-social behaviour in students. Considering discipline as a form of

consequence, Roache and Lewis (2011) further posit coercive discipline as a

reason why students misbehaviour. They state that punishments that are not

well explained or felt as relevant to students frequently achieves the opposite of

the punishments intention (to decrease a behaviour) and instead increases

misbehaviour, either into new forms or more severe existing forms (2011).

Another external influence of misbehaviour mentioned in the literature is the

students environment. Landrum, Scott and Lingo (2011) assert that a deep

understanding of a students interaction with their environment would allow

1
Daniel Colley 1766072 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environment

teachers to predict (mis)behaviour, and states that a negative environment has

negative consequences.

An Internal cause is sourced from within the student (Burton, Taylor & Barber,

2014). A particularly popular theory of internal behavioural influences is

students needs (Lyons, Ford & Slee, 2014). Various different theorists position a

particular need not being met as a strong influence for misbehaviour; such as

Postholm (2013) who argues that a students relationship with their teacher will

affect behaviour, and Tillery et al (2013) who argue that student misbehaviour,

such as excessive attention seeking, is caused by a need to belong. The common

factor between these different theories is that the students are acting in an

attempt to achieve a goal or need, regardless of whether they are actually

achieving that need or not. That is to say, rather than being a trained behaviour

to reach an outcome (a consequence model), the action is centred on individual

perspectives and attempts.

A strong perspective link to misbehaviour, as argued by Lee and Jonson-Reid

(2015), is that students misbehave due to low self-efficacy, with self-efficacy

described as the belief that one can succeed in completing tasks (Aloe, Amo &

Shanahan, 2013). When applied to young people, Lee and Jonson-Reid (2015)

argue that students with low self-efficacy believe that they cannot achieve a task

and will therefor make little to no effort to complete schoolwork, becoming

disengaged and disinterested. They further argue that negative self-concept (the

students sense of identity) also causes students to misbehave as students often

act in ways that fit with their self-concept (2015).

2
Daniel Colley 1766072 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environment

Finally, a Mixed cause is at once internal and external. One such example in the

literature is Postholms (2013) explanation of how communication can affect

behaviour and argument that misunderstanding can cause misbehaviour.

Postholm (2013) states that meaning and communication are socially

negotiated by individuals situated in a development process (Postholm, 2013,

392). In other words, the meaning students take from a communication is

mediated by different interpretive processes (cognitive and emotional) both

from the communicator forming their words and the student making meaning of

them (2013). As such, the external influence of the words is internally processed.

Likewise, Tanigawa et als (2011) meta-analysis showed that students who were

victims of various forms of bullying not only had altered behaviours towards

their bullies but also environments in which they were victims (frequently

schools), increasing levels of anxiety, depression and time off task. Both

communication and perspective reactions to environment display that a student

is never a passive receptacle of external influences (Postholm, 2013), but rather

constructs meaning from these factors in a mix of internal and external

processes.

Section Two: Main Interview Findings

This reporter interviewed six diverse people with the simple question of Why

Do Young People Misbehave in School?. Those interviewed (unidentified in this

report) represented a diverse range of ages, genders, professions and levels of

formal education, however the ethnicity of the sample was rather constricted to

White Australian and Greek cultures.

3
Daniel Colley 1766072 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environment

When asked why young people misbehave in schools, Person A stated that

students misbehave in order to look cool to other students and/or because of a

lack of effective discipline at home. When asked to specify what she meant by

cool, Person A defined it as appearing more powerful than or defiant to teachers

and that this is considered socially approved behaviour. Person B had the same

thought but further defined cool as an attempt to draw attention to themselves,

while Person D associated the want to look cool with rebelling against a disliked

teacher. A common context between these three interviewees was age;

specifically all three were ages eighteen to nineteen, Person D in particular still

being in high school.

Person C argued that students misbehave due to ineffective discipline at home (a

perspective shared in passing by Person A). When asked what ineffective

discipline looked like, Person C described a lack of modelling for conflict-

resolution and absentee parenting, particularly stating that technology like iPads

seem to have replaced many parenting functions, creating a virtual nanny as

such. A possible explanation for Person Cs theory lies in her context as a family-

based social worker as well as being a parent, likely steering her attention

towards actions within families as reasoning for misbehaviour.

Person D also had an individual theory of misbehaviours cause, although also

mentioned looking cool, however in associating with disliking a teacher. He

argued that most students, especially the younger students, misbehave simply

because they do not understand the rules or why they are enforced. Person D

4
Daniel Colley 1766072 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environment

further stated that other students see the rules as being pointless and then some

simply rebel, possibly because they do not like a particular teacher.

Person E and Person F had essentially the same argument and a possible

reasoning for this may lie in Person E being a teacher and Person F training to be

a teacher. They both posited that the main cause of misbehaviour was the

teacher, specifically making reference to irrelevant and boring content, as well as

delivering this content in a boring and unengaging fashion. Alongside this

statement they evidenced their theory with personal recounts of teachers and

colleagues that treated their content in an uninteresting manner and from then

on had thoroughly chaotic classrooms, despite those students being well

behaved in other classes.

Section Three: Comparison of Literature Review and Main Interview

Findings

As described in the section one, theory on the causes of behaviour often

separates in terms of external, internal and mixed influences. Under this lens, the

common cause described by Persons A, B and D of wanting to look cool is an

internal influence. Specifically, the desire or need to look cool can be closely

related to Tillery et als (2013) statement that students often misbehave in order

to belong (2013) since appearing popular to peers is frequently an attempt to

belong in a social group (Cavanagh & Prescott, 2015). References to internal

influences by the interviewees stops here however. While the literature makes

specific references to the effects of internal perspectives on misbehaviour (Lee &

Jonson-Reid, 2015), no direct reference is made by Persons A through F.

5
Daniel Colley 1766072 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environment

In terms of external influences, both Persons C and D made references (with

Person A making a passing comment) to discipline, rules and expectations.

Person Cs assertion that levels of discipline at home will strongly influence

discipline in the classroom correlates strongly with Roache and Lewis (2011)

argument that misbehaviour is frequently caused by insufficiently low or

excessively high discipline at home. However, this report found very little in the

reviewed literature about Person Cs notion of technology replacing many

parenting functions (such as supervision). Likewise connecting with Roache and

Lewis (2011) was Person Ds discussion on classroom rules, both stating or

implying that if rules are not seen as relevant, fair and expected, misbehaviour

will incur. It is interesting to note that while the literature made frequent

reference to the affect of environment on behaviour (Kearney, 2015), no

interviewee mentioned this external factor specifically as a possible cause of

misbehaviour.

Finally, the almost identical theory of misbehaviour being caused by irrelevant,

uninteresting and poorly delivered content posited by Persons E and F, links

with the mixed influence of communication as treated by Posthelm et al (2013).

Whilst Persons E and F made no mention of miscommunication as such, their

argument links with Posthelm et als (2013) treatment of communication as a

process of design and interpretation. It seems unlikely that the teachers these

persons recounted intended to be boring in their teaching so some disconnect

has occurred between teacher and student. Numerous other theories can also be

attributed to Person E and Fs viewpoint, such a possible need for self-relevance

6
Daniel Colley 1766072 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environment

by students (Tillery et al, 2013); or Tillery et als further statement that

misbehaviour is often caused by poor student-teacher relationship (an argument

posited by Person D as well). In fact, Person Ds argument about understanding,

relevance and disliking behaviours, likewise tries his reasoning for misbehaviour

with a students internal processing of external factors (discipline). Ultimately,

whilst Persons D, E and F positioned the teacher as the primary source of

misbehaviour, their arguments positioned misbehaviour as an interrelated play

of external and internal influences.

Section Four: Implications for Praxis

As displayed above, there are numerous causes for misbehaviour in young

people that appears to be related to interrelated external and internal factors

that may not affect individual students in the same way (Zirpoli, 2012). Therefor,

whilst the above literature and interviews suggest a list of implications for

teachers praxis in common place teaching, it likewise suggests that specific

interventions should be largely individually based, as the a students particular

context and perspectives will largely affect their reaction to different reinforcers

and punishments (Zirpoli, 2012). As such, it becomes extremely important for

teachers, and myself as a teacher, to consistently assess student behaviour and

its possible causes as well as gaining an understanding of the students

themselves in order effectively tailor interventions conducted outside of regular

classroom management practices.

As misbehaviour can often be a symptom of students attempting to meet needs

that are otherwise unmet (Tillery et al, 2013; Arum, 2011; Lyons, Ford & Slee,

7
Daniel Colley 1766072 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environment

2014), it is important for teachers to help students identify these needs and find

more positive behaviours to meet them. A useful strategy for building students

ability to identify needs and evaluate the connections between behaviour and

meeting them is Self-Management (Thompson, 2011). In self-management

interventions, students are taught to identify unacceptable target behaviors and

replace those behaviors with socially acceptable behaviors (313). This teaches

students to problem-solve their own behaviour, with teachers instigating a

scaffolded evaluation of behaviours (effective and ineffective) and gradually

teaching the skill of self-management to the student(s) until they are regulating

their own behaviour to positively meet their needs.

An important cause of misbehaviour that came up across both the literature and

interviews was improper discipline in terms of expectations and consequences.

This strongly implies that teachers need to be conscious of the ways they set and

enforce classroom rules. Within Roache and Lewis (2011) analysis of effective

disciplinary strategies they found that rules that utilised discussion, hinting,

involvement, and recognition and rewards, represent[ed] the most effective

array of strategies for managing classrooms (237). In effect, a teacher would

discuss the rule making process with the class to ensure all students knew their

expectations, agreed with (and/or designed) them and understood/agreed with

the consequences for breaking rules and expectations. Alongside this, Applied

Behaviour Interventions (as described by Thompson (2011)) should be added so

as to apply effective punishments and reinforcers not only towards problem but

also pro-social behaviour (Zirpoli, 2012) that is evidence-based and directed to

the classroom context.

8
Daniel Colley 1766072 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environment

As shown above, through the interaction of cognitive and contextual process,

every external influencer (such as teachers and interventions) will affect

students differently. As such, alongside the classroom management strategies

above, a teacher should also design individualized interventions for problem-

students (students you frequently misbehave). In order to do this, teachers will

first need to assess the individual student, their environment and contexts

surrounding misbehaviour. One assessment strategy that does this is a

Functional Behavioural Analysis (Thompson, 2011; Moreno et al, 2014) which

has multiple different forms but has the unified function of assessing reasons

behind behaviour that takes into account external, internal and mixed influences

(Moreno et al, 2014).

Once the teacher has this information, they can then design an individual

intervention that takes into account these factors, as many of the strategies

within the Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) model does (Kearney, 2015).

Particularly, the teacher would affect or modify the students context

(antecedent), such as environment or way of thinking (a focus of Cognitive

Behaviour Therapy), to direct behaviour into manageable possibilities and also

alter consequences (both negative and positive) to reinforce or punish that

behaviour and direct students towards a desired behaviour (Kearney, 2015). The

teacher will ultimately need to trial different interventions and consequences

along constant evaluations of results to find an intervention plan that works for

that particular student, creating a further implication to praxis that teachers

need to evaluate students, behaviours and the effectiveness of their own

interventions and classroom management strategies.

9
Daniel Colley 1766072 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environment

References

Aloe, A., Amo, L., & Shanahan, M. (2013). Classroom management self-efficacy

and burnout: A multivariate meta-analysis. Education Psychology Review,

26, 101-126.

Arum, R (2011). Improve relationships to improve student performance. Phi

Delta Kappan, 93(2), 8-13.

Burton, J., Taylor, S., & Barber, L. (2014). Understanding internal, external, and

relational attributions for abusive supervision. Journal of Organizational

Behavior, 35, 871-891.

Cavanagh, M., & Prescott, A. (2015). Your professional experience handbook: A

guide for preservice teachers. Frenchs Forest, Australia: Pearson Australia.

Kearney, A. J. (2015) Understanding Applied Behavior Analysis (2nd ed.). London,

GB: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Landrum, T. J., Scott, T. M., & Lingo, A. S. (2011). Classroom misbehavior is

predictable and preventable. Phi Delta Kappan, 93(2), 30-34.

Landsford, J., Criss, M., Laird, R., Shaw, D., Pettit, G., Bates, J., & Dodge, K. (2011).

Reciprocal relations between parents physical discipline and childrens

externalizing behaviour during middle childhood and adolescence.

Development and Psychopathology, 23, 225-238.

Lee, Y., & Janson-Reid, M. (2015). The role of self-efficacy in reading achievement

of young children in urban schools. Child Adolescent Social Work Journal,

33, 79-89.

10
Daniel Colley 1766072 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environment

Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Slee, J. (Eds.). (2014). Classroom management: Creating

positive learning environments (4th ed.). South Melbourne, Australia:

Cengage Learning.

Moreno, G., Wong-Lo, M., Short, M., & Bullock, L. (2014). Implementing a

culturally attuned functional behavioural assessment to understand and

address challenging behaviours demonstrated by students from diverse

backgrounds. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 19(4), 343-355.

Postholm, M. B. (2013). Classroom management: What does research tell

us? European Educational Research Journal, 12(3), 389-402.

Roache, J. E., & Lewis, R. (2011). The carrot, the stick, or the relationship: What

are the effective disciplinary strategies? European Journal of Teacher

Education, 34(2), 233-248.

Tanigawa, D., Furlong, M., Felix, E., & Sharkey, J. (2011). The protective role of

perceived social support against the manifestation of depressive

symptoms in peer victims. Journal of School Violence, 10(4), 393-412.

Thompson, A. M. (2011). A systematic review of evidence-based interventions

for students with challenging behaviors in school settings. Journal of

Evidence-Based Social Work, 8(3), 304-322.

Tillery, A. D., Varjas, K., Roach, A. T., Kuperminc, G. P., & Meyers, J. (2013). The

importance of adult connections in adolescents' sense of school

belonging: Implications for schools and practitioners. Journal of School

Violence, 12(2), 134-155.

Zirpoli, T. J. (2012). Positive behavioral supports. In Behavior management:

Positive applications for teachers (6th ed., pp. 257-287). Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Pearson.

11